What's Up, Up Here? Mammoth news and gossip for June 29-July 5

The first group of golfers during last Wednesday's "Youth Get Golf Ready" at Sierra Star. The sessions are geared toward kids ages 8 through 13 and sign-ups are still available at the course. Call Mammoth Mountain Ski Area for more details. Photo/Submitted

Joel St. Marie (Mammoth Gallery), is the featured shutterbug at the Mono Inn all July, and we say check it out. He’s close to joining the front ranks of local photographers, some say, but we say he’s already there. …

Speaking of which, longtime maestro John Dittli, he of the photo contingent, has his Summer Sierra Festival posters on sale now at the Mammoth Gallery, for $35 a pop. …

In the quasi scramble to close June Mountain Ski Area, the Big Boys at MMSA kinda sorta forgot to tell the marketers, who splashed a big back page ad on the back of the new “Welcome to the Eastern Sierra” magazine. As in, “Welcome! We’re closed!”…

Members of the MLPD will serve dinner at Rafters on Monday night (July 2), with proceeds going to a coupla worthy organizations—Mammoth Lakes Youth Football and the Mammoth Lakes Women’s Club. It’s “Tip a Cop” night, dinner starting at 5 p.m., reservations suggested. …

Congrats all around to Linsey Duddridge and local ski/videographer/adventurer Colin Ferrell, those two skiing lovebirds who are to be married this summer. …

Wow, was that a close finish or what? Mammoth Track Club distance runner Amy Hastings punched a ticket to the London Olympics by winning the 10,000 meters in the closest finish ever. With 100 meters to go, she swung wide off the final turn to kick past pre-race favorite and defending champion Shalane Flanagan (a Mammoth fave) and Texas A&M’s Natosha Rogers to break the beam in 31 minutes, 58.36 seconds, a winning margin of just 0.85 seconds. “When I hit two laps to go I was still just trying to be top three and then I guess in the last 100 meters, I don’t know, I flipped the switch and went for the gold,” said Hastings, who qualified for her first Olympic team. Way to go, Amy! …

Meanwhile, Deena Kastor appeared on an ASICS video from Eugene, saying she definitely hoped to race again just as soon as those back spasms leave her life for good. …

Is it just us, or has the X Games (summer), lost its luster? Skateboarder Shaun White withdrew, putting a damper and a downer on Flying Tomatos everywhere. …

Nice the see Jon Coats and the Fern Creekers open and ferning along, beginning Sunday and hopefully forever. …

Free Demo Day at Footloose tomorrow (Saturday), so get your Wish List on for the season. …

On June Lake Trails Day last Saturday, two dozen volunteers turned out to help pick up nearly 100 pounds of trash around Gull and June lakes, and another group constructed a pedestrian bridge with steps to help people safely cross the washed out culvert at the Yost/Fern trailhead parking lot. Other work that was accomplished included rehabilitating 101 red arrows that had been spray-painted on trees near June Mountain; on the Gull Lake trail, one log was removed, one sign placed, one retaining wall was constructed to improve about 10 feet of trail, and a parking area was constructed with log barriers near the Gull Lake Boat Launch Road. …

The ESPYs are right around the corner, and skier Lindsey Vonn is aiming for a repeat of three-peat of her athlete of the year award. Oursleves, we’d probably go with Hastings, John Teller, or Stacey Cook, but we are biased beyond belief. …

Hey you leadfooters, CHP troopers will conduct a drunk driving checkpoint with Bishop police tomorrow at the south city limits on U.S. 395, from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., so keep off the booze if yer going to drive down thataway. …

Boy it sure is Eastside-ish at the G2 Gallery in Venice Beach. Through Aug. 6, the Eastern Sierra Land Trust’s fourth annual Art for Conservation Show & Sale is a “Go!” featuring Andy Selters, John Dittli, Londie Padelsky, Nolan Nitschke, Rick Kattelmann, Robb Hirsch, Stephen Ingram, and Vern Clevenger. All proceeds from the art sales will benefit the ESLT.

Skeeters? Yosemite’s got ‘em, so you overnighters, take a long-sleeve shirt, says Royalist on the Yosemite News blog. “It’s better to be hot than it is to get bit.” …

The City of Stockton declared bankruptcy this past week, becoming the largest city in the country to go that route. Mammoth Lakes, not the largest in the country, will not be far behind. Highest municipality in the country? No doubt. …

We keep getting word from Colorado that the Wild Man at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is Buck Wahl. …

That was pal Dan Hansen, that indefatigable Twins fan, at Target Field in Minneapolis last week, watching his Heroes ply their (woeful) trade, and sending back pix of yet another loss. …